Young Lion roars on River Derwent
Derwent Sailing Squadron Commodore Steve Chau today sailed his Young 88 Young Lion to victory in the final race of Division 3 IRC of the Combined Clubs Summer Pennant, scoring an outstanding eighth win out of nine races over the season.
Young Lion also won the Division 3 AMS pennant, finishing second in the final race, but with five wins over the season.
The final pennant race of the summer was sailed in a chilly and gusty westerly breeze of up to 19 knots, with the downwind run proving difficult for some crews, include The Fork in the Road which shredded a spinnaker. Oskana (Mike Pritchard) won line honours but finished well down the results sheet on corrected time.
The evergreen Young 88 designs in Division 3 have dominated results over the summer with Stewart Geeves’ Footloose taking out the PHS pennant from Serica (Charles Peacock) and Trouble (Mark Millhouse).
Runner-up to Young Lion in the AMS pointscore was another Young 88, Young One (Nathan Mills and Jay Nibbs), with Footloose taking third. In IRC, Young Lion won from Footloose and Moonshadow.
Young Lion joined the veteran Division 1 yacht Doctor Who (Rod Jackman) and Division 2’s Wings Three (Peter Haros) in winning two handicap pennants for the 2018-19 summer season which attracted 53 entries, including a record 28 yachts with IRC ratings.
“We were looking over a shoulder all the time for Don Calvert in Intrigue,” commented Doctor Who tactician Phil Jackman, with the Davidson 52 enjoying the fresh westerly breeze to finish fourth in fleet, Intrigue eighth.
As a tribute to owner Roger Jackman before the final summer pennant race, the crew of Doctor Who pulled up off his Sandy Bay waterside home to hoist the mainsail. It proved a good luck move with the big boat sailed a fine race, finishing fourth on line, third in IRC and fifth on PHs.
Roger Jackman has retired from yacht racing, handing over Doctor Who to son Rod to campaign over the past three summers.
Back at the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania the Jackmans, father and son, joined rival Don Calvert to celebrate taking out the three Division 1 handicap categories, Doctor Who with IRC and PHS, Calvert’s Intrigue winning the AMS pennant.
On corrected times in the final race, just 31 seconds separated the two contenders for IRC honours, with Intrigue placing second and Doctor Who third in the Division 1 IRC category race yesterday, won by Crusader (Scott Sharp).
It wasn’t enough, however and Doctor Who won both the IRC and PHS handicap category pennants from Intrigue and Heatwave (Matthew Keal).
However, Intrigue’s second to Jeff Cordell’s Mumm 36, B&G Advantage in the AMS category, was sufficient to give the Castro 40 that summer pennant from B&G Advantage and Heatwave.
Today’s top performer in Division 1 was the Melges 32, Crusader, skippered by Scott Sharp, winning both PHS and IRC categories.
In Division 2, Peter Haros’ Wings Three, a Northshore 38, clinched both the AMS and IRC pennants with a last race win, with the PHS pennant going to another Northshore 38, Ian Stewart’s Southern Swordfish.
In the AMS category, Wings Three won from Southern Swordfish and Illusion (David Brett) while in IRC, Wings Three won from Rumbeat (Justin Barr) and Natelle Two (Glenn Roper).
In Division 4, just half a point separated Astrolabe (Peter Bosworth) and Camlet Way (Stephen Mannering) for the summer pennant after Camlet Way won the final race with Astrolabe eighth on handicap.
Words: Peter Campbell
Photos: Leigh Edwards, Peter Watson
30 March 2019
Philosopher casts its spell on Derwent
Another day on the Derwent and another day of wins for Shaun Tiedemann’s Sydney 36cr Philosopher on Saturday as she sailed to an overall victory in the Combined Clubs Inshore Series for 2018-19.
Philosopher convincingly won all three Division 1 races under AMS ratings on corrected times and two out of three under IRC scoring.
Yesterday was the final race day of the Inshore Series with race officer Nick Hutton running two windward/leeward and triangle course in keeping with the concept of short, sharp racing around the buoys on the river for the small but elite fleet.
The wins (and a third place) gave Philosopher first place overall in the IRC and AMS handicap categories, adding to the Sydney 36cr’s outstanding season that has included an overall win in the Launceston to Hobart race, division wins in the Maria Island and Bruny Island Races, and a notable IRC division win in the Australian Yachting Championships.
Philosopher won the Inshore Series Division 1 IRC from Paul Butchard’s Mem and X&Y (Toby Richardson) and AMS from War Games (Wayne Banks-Smith).
The PHS category of Division 1 went to Paul Boutchard’s Mem, today notching up a 3-31 result to win by half a point from X&Y.
War Games won two of three Division 1 PHS races, but did not figure in the overall top placings.
In Division 2, Derwent Sailing Squadron Commodore Steve Chau’s Young 88, Young Lion, sailed through the final day unbeaten in PHS, AMS and IRC scoring to win the AMS and IRC series. PHS overall winner was Alibi II (Rod Williams) with five wins over the series.
The final Combined Clubs Summer Pennant Series race will be sailed next Saturday, with Philosopher in line for the IRC pennant.
Words: Peter Campbell
Photos: Peter Watson
24 March 2019
Great Day for Calvert Sailing Famiily
Three generations of Hobart’s bestknown sailing family, the Calverts, were aboard champion yacht Intrigue when she notched up yet another double rating win in the Combined Clubs Summer Pennant on the River Derwent yesterday.
Sailing with owner/skipper Don Calvert where his son David and grandson Angus, son of the late Bruce Calvert, with Don giving 19-year-old Angus the helm to steer the Castro 40 across the finish line.
Intrigue, which has been racing on the Derwent since 1985, now has a commanding lead in Division 1 AMS, with six wins over the summer. In IRC, she is a close second to Doctor Who and in PHS, third overall to the consistent Doctor Who, skippered by Rod Jackman.
The 10 knot SE seabreeze and flat water on the Derwent suited Intrigue and she excelled in the long first beat to windward to Ralph’s Bay.
On the second beat, down to a mark off the Garrow Light, a tactical decision to take a tack out to the east rather than to the west and Nutgrove Beach paid dividends for Intrigue and others.
In the AMS category, Intrigue won from Matthew Keal’s Heatwave and Chris Sheehan’s Assagai while in IRC it was again Intrigue and Heatwave first and second, third place going to Ian Johnston’s Zephyr.
With one Summer Pennant race day to go, on Saturday, 30 March, Intrigue is on a net 9 points, with Jeff Cordell’s B&G Advantage on 22 points and Heatwave on 27 points in the Division 1 AMS category.
Doctor Who discarded her sixth place in IRC yesterday and continues to head the IRC pointscore with 14 points. Intrigue has a net 18 points, Heatwave 20 points.
In the PHS category, Doctor Who placed 10th yesterday and has discarded this race to be on a net 20 points. Heatwave, which won the Division PHS category yesterday, is on 26 points, Intrigue just one point behind.
In Division 2 yesterday, Justin Barr was back to winning form in Rumbeat after his success in the Dragons at the Crown Series Bellerive Regatta.
Rumbeat won Division 2 IRC and PHS categories, beating Wings Three (Peter Haros) and Illusion (David Brett) in IRC and Juana (Jock Young) and Ian Stewart’s Southern Swordfish in PHS.
Southern Swordfish won Division 2 AMS from Wings Three and Illusion.
Division 3 AMS continues to be a three-way duel between the Young 88s, Young Lion (Steve Chau), Young One (Nathan Mills and Jay Nibbs) and Footloose (Stewart Geeves). Yesterday Young Lion won AMS from Footloose and Young One.
Young Lion scored her seventh win in eight races in the IRC category, from Footloose and Groove (Will Justo), and has a net 7 points, with Footloose on 14 and Moonshadow (Anthony Ellis) on 22 points.
In Division 3 PHS, Lock on Wood (Ron Akhurst) won yesterday from Serica (Charles Peacock) and Footloose, which heads the pointscore on 21 points from Serica, 30 points, and Groove (Wil Justo) and Trouble (Mark Millhouse) both on 31 points.
Astrolabe (Peter Bosworth) continues to head the Division 4 pointscore after finishing second yesterday to Innovator (Smith/Aberle) with Wayath (Allan Morgan) third.
After eight races, Astrolabe has a net 17.5 points, Camlet Way (Stephen Mannering) 24 points and Innovator 26 points.
Words: Peter Campbell
Photos: Peter Watson
17 March 2019
Small Turn-out for Inshore Series
Only nine boats competed in day three of the Combined Clubs Inshore Series, a disappointing turn-out for an event designed to provide IRC style courses in a lead-up to next year’s Australian Yachting Championships on the River Derwent.
Yesterday’s three races were sailed over IRC style course, two windward/leeward and one triangle, in a 14-18 knots NNW breeze, gusting to 25 knots late in the afternoon.
In Division 1, Shaun Tiedemann’s Australian champion Sydney 36cr, Philosopher won IRC and AMS categories in all three races and PHS twice. X&Y (Toby Richardson) won PHS in race seven as well as taking fastest time in each race.
In Division 2, Steve Chau’s Young 88, Young Lion was the only starter with AMS and IRC ratings and won the PHS category in race two.
Rod Williams’ Alibi II won the other two races on PHS corrected time.
Provisional standings with one day of racing in the Combined Clubs Inshore Series to sail show Philosopher heading both Division 1 IRC and AMS, and in second place overall to X&Y, by just one point.
In Division 2, Trouble (Mark Millhouse) heads the PHS pointscore from Alibi II, while Young Lion now has commanding leads in AMS and IRC.
The final Inshore Series race day is the 23rd March.
Words: Peter Campbell
Photos: Peter Watson
3 March 2019
Who’s Who of Derwent yachting win again
Roger Jackman’s Doctor Who and Don Calvert’s Intrigue on Saturday on Saturday showed they still head the who’s who of yacht racing on Hobart’s River Derwent, each notching up another win the Combined Clubs Summer Pennant.
With two more Pennant race days to complete the summer season, Doctor Who, skippered by Rod Jackman, has a commanding points lead in both IRC and PHS handicap categories. Intrigue holds a similar margin in AMS.
Both yachts were designed and built in the 1980s, Doctor Who, a Davidson 62 in 1983 with a Sydney Hobart division win to her credit; Intrigue, a Castro 40 built in 1985 and an Admiral’s Cup team boat.
Today’s course was an extended river day race, with Division 1 sailing 32 nautical miles to Yellow Bluff and return, Divisions 2,3 and 4 to Bull Bay and Blackmans Bay, 25 nautical miles. Conditions were perfect with an 18 knot sou’-easter.
Doctor Who won Division 1 IRC from Intrigue, third place going to Shaun Tiedemann’s Philosopher.
Intrigue won AMS from B&G Advantage, Jeff Cordell’s Mumm 36 which won the inaugural Tasmanian AMS championship last weekend. Assagai, Chris Sheehan’s Melges 32, placed third.
Zephyr (Ian Johnston) won Division 1 PHS from Assagai and Gavin Adamson’s Madness.
Wings Three (Peter Haros) had a good day in Division 2, winning IRC, AMS and placing third in PHS, won by Frontline (Ian Snape).
Young 88s again did well in Division 3, Footloose (Stewart Geeves) winning PHS and Young Lion (Steve Chau) placing first on corrected time in both AMS and IRC scoring.
In Division 4, Camlet Way (Stephen Mannering) won her fourth race of the Summer Pennant and is just half a point behind Astroabe (Peter Bosworth) on the leader board.
After seven races in the Combined Clubs Summer Pennant Doctor Who leads Division 1 PHS pointscore from Heatwave and Intrigue and leads IRC from Intrigue and Heatwave.
In Division 2, Wings Three leads in IRC from Rumbeat and Natelle Two, and AMS from Southern Swordfish and Illusion. Southern Swordfish heads the leaderboard in PHS from Natele Two and Rumbeat.
In Division 3, Young Lion heads IRC from Footloose and Moonshadow and AMS from Young One and Moonshadow. Footloose heads PHS from Groove and Trouble.
Astrolabe heads Division 4 PHS by just half a point from Camlet Way and Hornet.
Words and photos: Peter Campbell
24 February 2019
Elliott Noye new Tasmanian SB20 champion
Porco Rosso at speed downwind during the Crown Series Bellerive Regatta. Photo Steve Catchpool
Banjo’s Shoreline Crown Series Bellerive Regatta has become a major annual event on the calendar of Hobart’s fleet of SB20 sports boat sailors, this year again using the regatta on-the-water expertise to conduct their Tasmanian State championship.
Elliott Noye is the new Tasmanian champion, outsailing a fleet of sailors he describes as of “world class” over the two day’s of close racing for the 17 boat fleet.
Noye helmed Porco Rosso to a commanding victory with a scorecard of 2-2-4-1-1-(9)-4 to finish ten points clear of defending champion Pinch (Frazer Read) who was two points ahead of class veteran Nick Rogers in Karabos.
Porco Rosso’s crew of Noye, owner Paul McCartney (main) and Edward Snowball (bow), took a firm grip on the championship from day one, starting with two seconds and then two wins as the River Derwent seabreeze freshened to 18 knots.
Cr
New Tasmanian SB20 champions, left to right, Elliott Noye (helm), Paul McCartney, owner (main) and Edward Snowball (bow). Photo Jane Austin
Pinch also had two wins, race one and race seven, with race eight being abandoned halfway through on Sunday afternoon, while Smigger (Ian Smith) won race two, Karabos race three and Australian champion Aeolus (Brett Cooper) won the final race.
The all-female crew,sailing Cook Your Own Dinner with Felicity Allison on the helm, finished 13th overall including a brilliant third in the final race. Another excellent result came from Hutchins student William Cooper and his crew who finished ninth in Murray Jones -THSSA.
Interviewed by Jane Austin at the end of the regatta, Noye, who last year finished second in the European SB20 championships in Ireland, described the level of SB20 sailing in Hobart “as definitely world class” adding “every Thursday night we have guys on the Derwent who have been in the top ten in the world.”
Emphasising this, Ellott added: “We are all trying to push our way up so that one of us can eventually win a worlds one day”, going on to announce that the Porco Rosso team would be heading to Europe again this year.
“We will do two trips to Europe. We have a boat in the UK, so we will do the British nationals in mid-June, and the week after that we will put the boat on a ferry and drive down to Cascais (Portugal) where the SB20 worlds are next year.
“After contesting the Portuguese nationals, we will head back to France at the end of September for the French grand slam, followed by the worlds in Hyeres.”
Charge of the SB20s on the Derwent at the weekend. Photo Steve Catchpool.
This coming Saturday, Elliott Noye has another challenge, match racing in International Dragons against SB20 opponent and doyen of the Dragon class, Nick Rogers.
They are sailing to decide who will represent the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania in a challenge match for the historic Sayonara Cup against the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron.
Words: Peter Campbell & Jane Austin
Photos: Ed Broadby, Steve Catchpool, Peter Campbell
18 February 2019
Nothing to keep Mumm about for Jeff Cordell
Bellerive Yacht Club member Jeff Cordell has won a somewhat rare collection of trophies in the weekend’s Crown Series Bellerive Regatta with his Mumm 36 yacht B&G Advantage.
Cordell skippered B&G Advantage to overall first place in both the AMS and PHS categories of Racing Group Division 1, becoming inaugural Tasmanian AMS (Australian Measurement System) champion in that division.
To cap a winning weekend, he retained the ‘Mumm 36 World Championship’, a light-hearted but traditional part of the Banjo’s Shoreline Crown Series Regatta for the past decade and more.
B&G Advantage won Racing Group Division 1 AMS and PHS from another Mumm 36, Matthew Keal’s Heat Wave while War Games (Wayne Banks-Smith) recovered from a race two OCS to win the IRC category overall.
It was a fitting win for Cordell as he has been driving force in building up AMS as a club-orientated handicap system and in convincing Bellerive Yacht Club to include the inaugural Tasmanian AMS championship as part of the Crown Series Bellerive Regatta.
Racing Group Division 2 saw just two points between Nathan Mills and Jay Nibb’s Young 88, Young One, John Dryden’s Mount Gay 30, Prion, and Stewart Geeves’ Young 88 Footloose in PHS results.
Prion won AMS and the PHS division titles, while Footloose took the IRC honours.
Prion thus became the AMS champion for Racing Division 2, while Cromarty Magellen (Richard Grant) is AMS champion for Cruising (spinnaker) Division 1.
Wings Three (Peter Haros) won Cruising (spinnaker) Division1 under PHS[PC1].
Cruising (spinnaker) Division 2 went to Mischief (Duncan Macgill) and Division 3 to SHrinkEDGE (Andrew Jones) on a countback from fellow Port Dalrymple Yacht Club boat Hotdog (Ross Edmunds). The Goo (David Paine) won the Cruising (non-spinnaker) division.
Elliott Noye, one of Tasmania’s most talented and versatile young yachtsmen, is the new State champion helmsman in the SB20 sports boats.
Steering Porco Rosso with owner Paul McCartney and Edward Snowball as crew, Noye finished the championship with a scorecard of 2-2-4-1-1-(9)-4, a 10-point winning margin from defending State champion Pinch (Frazer Read). Karabos (Nick Rogers) placed third.
A comeback to sailing his beloved International Dragons proved a winner for Justin Barr, helming Zane
Ridgeway’s Magic, recently brought to Hobart from Metung in Victoria.
Magic won by just one point from Wicked (Andre Blakney) with another two points to Ridgeway, helmed by Brendan Crisp, with the teenager winning race five.
In the off-the-beach classes, overall winners of the classes were: Oscar O’Donoghue and Rupert Hamilton (29ers), Hugo Allison and James Gough (International Cadets), Sarah Sargent (Laser 4.7), Ed Broadby (Optimists), Sean Keady (Paper Tiger), Lara Racape and Stella Gasperini (Flying 11), Lisa Blackwood (International 2.4m), Rohan Langford (Moth Foiler) and Oliver Whitton (Sabot).
The Bellerive Regatta Association Trophy went to Amy Potter who skippered a 29er with Anna Reid as crew, consistently placing third in the small fleet. Announcing the award, race officer Nick Hutton said the trophy recognised “good sportsmanship, great humour and a serious competitor but always having fun. The spirit of the regatta.”
The Crippo Trophy for the most impressive newcomer sailing in the regatta was awarded to John Toohey.
Words: Peter Campbell
Photos: Peter Campbell, Ed Glover
18 February 2019
OCS costs War Games Regatta lead
Three yachts in Racing Group, Division 1 of the Crown Series Bellerive Regatta, including overall series leader War Games, have been declared OCS and disqualified from race two.
War Games has dropped from first place overall in IRC, AMS and PHS as the fleet contests day two of the regatta on Hobart’s River Derwent, while X&W and Whistler have also been penalised.
Bellerive Yacht Club announced revised results of race two and overall standings this morning following a check of finishing positions and times relayed from the finish boat on Saturday.
War Games, Wayne Banks-Smith’s Farr 40 and the regatta defending champion, had provisionally placed third in race two and overall after four races was top of the leaderboard in IRC, AMS and PHS handicap categories.
Revised totals, counting the OCS, has dropped War Games to fifth overall in PHS and AMS and third in IRC. Whistler (Jo Breen and David Aplin) has dropped from second to fifth in IRC standings, from second in AMS to fourth and in PHS from sixth to seventh.
X&Y (Toby Richardson) mid-fleet corrected time placings have altered only one or two positions in PHS and IRC.
The Racing Group Division 1 now has new overall leaders in each category with Filepro (Tim Gadsby) heading PHS, B&G Advantage at the top of AMS and Crusader (Scott Sharp) and B&G Advantage on equal points in IRC scoring.
An historic annual trophy event within the Banjo’s Shoreline Crown Series Bellerive Regatta is the ‘Mumm 36 World Championship’ decided on PHS results over the regatta.
B&G Advantage is the defending champion but this year is facing strong challengers from Matthew Keal’s Heatwave, Gavin Adamson’s Madness and the syndicate-owned Joint Custody.
Racing is well under way in all divisions and classes today, the big fleet enjoying a light northerly breeze on a warm summer’s day.
Words and Photos: Peter Campbell
1300/17 February 2019
Regatta MOB - Man, woman and girl
A strong sea breeze kicking up choppy waters on the Derwent caused some havoc in yesterday’s Crown Series Bellerive Regatta, causing three MOB (man overboard) situations.
One was a young male crew from the SB20 Export Roo, the other a young woman crew from the classic 8-metre, Juanita, and third a teenage girl from another SB20, Obi Kabobi.
All were quickly recovered, testimony to the strict safety rules that apply to yacht racing in Tasmania. All were wearing buoyancy vests and none suffered any ill effects - other than a dunking in the Derwent.
A protest over the correct course and involving all boats in Racing Division 2 also delayed the announcement of final results for the day, before being dismissed.
The gust sea breeze caught some sail trimmers unaware and there were a number of spectacular broaches among the keelboats and capsizes in the dinghies.
Champion helmsman Sam Tiedemann went overboard briefly from the SB20 Export Roo, skippered by Michael Cooper.
Export Roo was in third place, approaching the finish line when Sam slipped over the side of the sports boat, grabbing a line as he went, and hauling himself back on board.
A female crew member of the 8-metre yacht Juanita, skippered by Jock Young, also fell overboard and was recovered by a Bellerive Yacht Club patrol boat.
Teenager Jorji Cooper also fell overboard from the SB20, Obi Kenobi, skippered by her mother, wellknown yachtswoman Jacinta Cooper.
“She caught her foot in the spinnaker halyard, lost her balance and went oversboard,” Jacinta Cooper said last night. “But we got her back safely and we had lots of fun.”
Apart from those dramas, the sea breeze provided a great day of racing in this 15th annual Crown Series Bellerive Regatta with the promise of more close competition today.
The Crown Series is the Tasmanian championship for the SB20 class and after five races yesterday, Porco Rosso (Elliot Noye) heads the leaderboard with places of 2-2-4-1-1 for 10 points.
Karabos (Nick Rogers) is second overall on 25 points, with defending State champion Pinch (Frazer Read) in third place.
In Racing Division 1, War Games (Wayne Banks-Smith) is leading all three handicap categories, IRC, AMS and PHS after four races.
War Games, with Darren ‘Twirler’ Jones aboard as tactician, had had three wins and a second in the IRC category, a first, two second and a fourth place in AMS, and a 3-3-2-2 PHS scorecard.
Racing Division 2 results were delayed by a protest, with Paul Einoder’s Beneteau Oceanis 34 heading the PHS and AMS pointscores and Stewart Geeves’ Young 88 leading Division 2 IRC with three wins and second so far.
The Cruising Group (spinnakers) have notched up three races, with Cromaarty Magellan (Richard Grant) heading the leader board in both Division 1 PHS and AMS.
Hydrotherapy (Jim Thorpe) lead Cruising (spinnakers) Division 2 while in Division 3 the Elliot 4.7, ShrinkEdge, from Port Dalrymple Yacht Club at Beauty Point, skippered by Andrew Jones, holds a narrow lead from fellow PDYC boat Hotdog (Ross Edmunds).
In Cruising (non-spinnaker) The Goo (David Paine) today won two races to lead Sundance (Don Bailey) by just one point after three races.
In a revival for the classic one-design class, the International Dragons have a fleet of six boats in the Crown Series, with Justin Barr making a return to the class in Magic to lead the series after four races.
Each of the four races saw a different winner today: Magic (Justin Barr), Thorvalda (Stephen Henley) and Wicked (Andrew Blakney) with two wins spoiled by an OCS and a DSQ.
In the main off-the-beach classes, the top placed sailors are Oscar O’Donoghue and Rupert Hamilton (29ers), Ed Broadby (Optimists), Archie Yarrow (Laser 4.7s), Sean Keady (Paper Tigers) while in the Cadets there have been three winners, Hugo Allison, Will Zeeman and Grace Hooper.
Words: Peter Campbell
Photos: Ed Glover, Steve Catchpool
17 February 2019
Optimists: From Regatta to World Championships
Three young Optimist dinghy sailors from Sandy Bay Sailing Club chosen to represent Australia overseas are among a list of champions contesting this weekend’s Crown Series Bellerive Regatta on the River Derwent.
Eddie Reid (13), who was a close runner-up to a Sydney sailor in the 2019 Optimist Australian championship in Hobart in January, has been included in the Australian senior for team for the world championships in Antigua in July.
Ed Broadby and Adelaide O’Donoghue, both aged 12, are in the senior team to contest the Asian and Oceanic championships at Al Mussanatt Sports City, Oman, in September.
In the Optimist nationals Broadby finished 17th and O’Donoghue 26th and second female in the huge open championship fleet of 138 Optimists.
Broadby and O’Donoghue will contest the Optimist class at the Banjo’s Shoreline Crown Series Bellerive Regatta today and tomorrow while Reid will move into a two-handed class.
He is helming a high-performance 29er skiff with his crew Archer Ibbott, who was a runner-up in the 2019 International Cadet Nationals.
Cadet champions, Hugo Allison and James Gough, also from Sandy Bay, head a strong line-up of the class as they continue their preparation to represent Australia at the Cadet Worlds in Poland later this year.
A dozen Optimists are contesting the Crown Series Bellerive Regatta, along with fleets of 29ers, International Cadets, Lasers, Sabots, Paper Tigers and other off-the-beach classes.
Optimists: Crown Series to World Championships
The Crown Series Bellerive Regatta began last evening with a twilight race for 60 racing and cruising keelboats and today they are being joined by off-the-beach dinghies and catamarans, International Dragons and SB20 sports boats which will be racing for their State championship.
Both the Dragons and SB20 fleets include a number of young sailors with former Flying 11 national champion Brendan Crisp steering the Dragon, Ridgeway.
In the SB20s, prominent yachtswoman Jacinta Cooper is taking her daughters Jorja (15) and Indy (12), along with Seb Gadsby (15) racing in her new sportsboat, Obi Kenobi.
Their opposition will include Jacinta’s husband, Brett, the current Australian champion in the SB20s.
Words and photos: Peter Campbell, Beau Outteridge
16 February 2019